264 BY ORDER OF THE CZAR.
came shooting forth from one of the little canals right into the midst of the procession, and attracted universal atten- tion. It stood out from the rest, not only on account of its positive color, but for the singular distinction of the lady who sat enthroned at the bow, in a simple silken cos- tume of white silk and Venetian lace, her gondoliers in red and black, with velvet caps ; and her secretary, Signor Fer- rari, in the ordinary morning dress of the time.
The red gondola took up a position near the royal and state barges, and alongside the yellow and black gondola of the Russian general and his wife, the princess. The general bowed to the countess with much empressement, the princess contented herself with the slightest recogni- tion that might pass for courtesy. The countess, Jenny declared^ fairly ogled the general ; but Jenny did not like the countess, and might have exaggerated the expression of the countess' face. Philip noticed that the countess was also honored by the gracious smiles of the King and Queen. He would not admit to himself that there was something in the glance of General Petronovitch that he did not like ; but he had not seen how the countess had appealed to the vanity of her distinguished co^tryman (if a Jewess may be said to have a country or a countryman outside the pale of her co-religionists), in the drop of her violet eyes and the play of her ostrich fan.
When the procession arrived at the canal steps of the palace, the red gond<5la had vanished as rapidly as it had previously appeared, for no sooner had their Majesties landed, than Jenny and the rest, looking round for the red gondola, did not find it. Beppo, guessing their disap- pointment, remarked that Madame the Russian, who looked like a Venetian picture out of its frame for the occa- sion, had directed her men to make for the Fazio Palace the moment the King and Queen had left their barge, and he must own that they were- a couple of clever gondoliers,
